Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: We Already Have The Data And Tools To Fight Medicare Fraud. Use Them; The Stigma Of An Autism Diagnosis Is Hurting Kids
Last聽month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced聽a six-month moratorium on new Medicare enrollment for new home health and hospice agencies, its latest move to combat fraud in federal health programs. The government is聽right to focus on fraud, waste and abuse. But its oversight efforts should be targeted, data-driven聽and aligned with demonstrated risk. (Jason R. Lee, 6/14)
The CDC鈥檚 latest data show autism prevalence is 1 in 31 children in the United States. That is 16% higher than the previous estimate in 2020. It is the kind of number that should change how health systems allocate resources, how pediatricians screen, and how schools plan. But there is a population this number barely touches: South Asian American families, where an autism diagnosis is still, in many homes, a secret. (Ritu Goel, 6/15)
Utah鈥檚 worsening measles outbreak, which has already sickened more than 670 people, including babies too young to get vaccinated, is a stark reminder of what happens when immunization rates fall. Doctors who want to confront the crisis before it gets worse can take a lesson from Gilbert 鈥淕il鈥 Walker, a 98-year-old retired physician who knows a thing or two about convincing parents to vaccinate their children. (Leana S. Wen, 6/11)
鈥淚鈥檓 so sorry I鈥檓 late,鈥 I said, slipping into the exam room. The boy sat perfectly still, watching 鈥淏luey鈥 on an iPad propped against his stroller. His mother looked exhausted. Coffee untouched. Diaper bag spilling open on the floor. 鈥淚t鈥檚 fine,鈥 she said. 鈥淗e didn鈥檛 even notice.鈥 I didn鈥檛 judge her. I couldn鈥檛. I鈥檝e handed my own toddler my phone at the dinner table more times than I鈥檇 admit to myself or my colleagues. (Dua Hassan, 6/15)